BRUINS NOTEBOK: Beleskey leaves a mark in his return to lineup

After playing just once in the Bruins' previous six games, Matt Beleskey seized the opportunity given to him by coach Bruce Cassidy on Saturday.

Mike Loftus The Patriot Ledger

Matt Beleskey’s physical style of play is perfect against a team like the Flyers, so maybe the Bruins winger would have been in Saturday’s lineup even if Tim Schaller hadn’t sustained a lower body injury in Thursday’s 6-1 win over the Red Wings.

Beleskey’s performance on Saturday, after sitting out three consecutive games and five of the previous six, might make it hard for Schaller to find room in the lineup once he’s healthy again.

“I loved his energy,” interim coach Bruce Cassidy said of Beleskey, whom he moved from a fourth- to a third-line role during Saturday’s 2-1 win over the Flyers. “He came ready to play.”

Beleskey was so ready, in fact, his first shift lasted only 33 seconds. After starting it with a hit that leveled defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, Beleskey was challenged by Flyers teammate Brandon Manning – whom Beleskey promptly thrashed in a fight only 2:02 into the game.

“To be able to come out, get a big hit, and kind of get something going, is what I was looking for,” Beleskey said. “I was just looking for a big hit, but (a fight) just seems to follow that nowadays.”

The second season of a five-year, $19 million contract ($3.8 million salary cap hit) hasn’t been a good one for Beleskey. He played nine scoreless games before then-coach Claude Julien benched him for the first time, and he’d scored only two goals and five points by early December, when he sustained a knee injury that kept him out until mid-January. He has been in and out of the lineup throughout his return – especially since Cassidy replaced Julien. Saturday’s game was only his sixth appearance in 13 games since Cassidy started setting the lineup.

By the time it was over, however, Beleskey had been moved up to a new line with Riley Nash and Drew Stafford, and was on the ice for Stafford’s game-winner with 5.6 seconds left in regulation.

“(Cassidy) has been fair to guys in that way,” Beleskey said. “When you play well, you move up, and when you don’t, you don’t play. I’ve been on the other side, and I’m on this side today.

“He goes with the guys that are going to get the two points. Luckily, I played well enough that he put some faith in me, and put me out there.”

That’s all right: Among Cassidy’s many in-game lineup maneuvers on Saturday was to split up the defense pair of Colin Miller and Kevan Miller – an unconventional one, in that both are right-hand shots. With the B’s struggling to control the Flyers over the first 40 minutes, Cassidy moved the more experienced Kevan Miller up to the top pairing with Zdeno Chara, dropping rookie Brandon Carlo back to play with Colin Miller – another righty-righty pairing.

“In the past, we’ve moved (Carlo) down and someone up with (Chara), if there’s a matchup we prefer,” said Cassidy, who set the defensive pairings as an assistant to Julien before being promoted. “That’s all this was.

“I talked to Joe (Sacco, one of Cassidy’s assistants), and we decided to go that route, but on Monday (at Vancouver), Chara will be back with Carlo. We tend to go back to who we start with, and then see how it plays out.”

Around the boards: Center Ryan Spooner missed his second game with a concussion sustained last Monday at Ottawa, but skated on his own before the game. “I don’t know when he’ll go in the lineup for sure, but he’s coming on the trip,” Cassidy said. “He’s progressing well, but he’s still in (concussion) protocol.” … The status of Schaller wasn’t as certain. “Schaller’s day to day,” Cassidy said. “His (injury) is not as clear-cut, so he’s a maybe” for the road trip … With Cassidy choosing Beleskey to replace Schaller, rookie Peter Cehlarik was a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game. … The Bruins were scheduled to depart at 9 a.m. Sunday and practice in Vancouver at 2:30 Pacific time.

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